Watch: Olga Kurylenko and Rachel McAdams go “To the Wonder” in first trailer for new Terrence Malick film

December 19, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

Lovers silhouetted against windswept fields, sweeping camera movements, dreamy sequences that don’t fully make sense, soaring classical music. Yup, it’s a new Terrence Malick film alright, and this time, it’s Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko and Rachel McAdams frolicking about as Javier Bardem waxes poetic in voiceover about love.

“To the Wonder” received mixed reviews when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and even Kurylenko and McAdams have been caught stumbling when trying to describe the film, which loosely follows Affleck’s character as he meets one girl (Kurylenko), falls in and out of love with her, and strikes up a romance with an old flame back home (McAdams). According to many audiences though, it’s mostly just the actors twirling around in beautiful locales and very little dialogue or exposition.

“To the Wonder” will be released on April 12, 2013 and the new trailer can be viewed below. ~~Pity there’s no higher quality version available yet because it is a Malick film, after all, and thus very beautiful to look at.~~ The HD version has been added!

Natalie Dormer joins Ridley Scott’s “The Counselor” opposite Michael Fassbender

August 3, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

British actress Natalie Dormer has landed a role in the highly anticipated Cormac McCarthy-scripted, Ridley Scott-directed “The Counselor”, according to THR. Michael Fassbender plays the titular role, and is joined by an all-star supporting cast that includes Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz. Dormer’s role is expected to be supporting in nature.

Fassbender’s Counselor is a lawyer in the film that’s been described as “‘No Country For Old Men’ on steroids.” The Counselor tries to dip his toes into the Mexican drug trade without getting himself in too deep, but of course that doesn’t work out so well when he becomes entangled with some very dangerous men (Bardem and Pitt). Meanwhile, his fiancee Laura (Cruz) gets dragged into the mess and Diaz’s femme fatale Malkina has an agenda of her own. Filming is currently underway in London.

Dormer, most known to audiences from her role as Anne Boelyn on series “The Tudors” opposite Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, has also appeared in supporting roles in films including “Captain America: The First Avenger” and “W.E.” She also completed work on Ron Howard’s Formula One biopic “Rush” with Chris Hemsworth, and is currently shooting the role of Margaery Tyrell for next season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”

Watch: New Bond Girl Naomie Harris gets close to Daniel Craig in first teaser trailer for “Skyfall”

May 21, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

James Bond is back in a big way if the first teaser trailer for “Skyfall”, Daniel Craig’s third time around as 007, is any indication. Sam Mendes is behind the director’s chair this time, and the first footage from the film, with Bond playing the most intense game of word association game ever, looks very promising. After the convoluted disappointment that was “Quantum of Solace”, “Skyfall” promises to leave the confusing mythology of the global terrorist network that the first two films revolved around behind in favor of a stand-alone story that sees Javier Bardem as the new Big Bad, though he is barely glimpsed here.

Craig also gets two new Bond Girls to help and hinder him on his new quest to save the world, and Naomie Harris, who we’ve already seen wielding guns, gets a lot closer to Craig’s Bond in the trailer, seemingly a friend rather than foe – at least for now.

“Skyfall” will be released in the UK in October before finally hitting US screens on November 9th. Watch the first teaser trailer below to make that wait just a bit more agonizing.

Natalie Portman in talks for Ridley Scott’s “The Counselor”; Jeremy Renner vs Javier Bardem for villain role

March 8, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Michael Fassbender may be meeting his friends and foes for Ridley Scott’s “The Counselor” soon. Twitch Film reports that Natalie Portman is in early talks to take on the role of love interest Laura, while Jeremy Renner remains a top contender for the villain role of Reiner, though Scott is said to be leaning towards Javier Bardem. No official offers nor negotiations have commenced.

Scripted by Cormac McCarthy, “The Counselor” has been described as “‘No Country For Old Men’ on steroids.” Fassbender will play a lawyer who decides to dip his toe into the drug business without getting in too deep. Of course, that doesn’t turn out so well for him. Laura unwittingly gets dragged into the mess, while another pivotal female role, Malkina, has yet to be filled. All the roles should be locked down soon, given how quickly the turnaround has been thus far and with a May start date looming.

Acting steadily since she was 13, Portman received her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for 2004′s “Closer” and followed it up with a win her second time around for Best Actress in Darren Aronofsky’s psychological ballerina thriller “Black Swan.” Always deft at doing both indie and mainstream films, she followed it up with a couple of lower brow comedies, “No Strings Attached” and “Your Highness”, and played love interest to Chris Hemsworth in Marvel’s blockbuster hit “Thor.” It was thought her return to acting would be in a pair of Terrence Malick films – “Lawless” and “Knight of Cups” – filming this summer and fall, but if she signs on, “The Counselor” will get that distinction instead.

Tang Wei leads shortlist of Chinese actresses vying for second Bond Girl role opposite Daniel Craig

October 17, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

They’ve already got one gorgeous Bond Girl in French actress Berenice Marlohe, but director Sam Mendes and star Daniel Craig are still on the search for one more exotic beauty to play a friend or foe to Craig’s smooth-talking MI6 agent in Bond 23 (rumored to be titled “Skyfall” or “Carte Blanche”). Twitch Film report Chinese actress Tang Wei is currently the favorite to take the role though other actresses in the running include Fan Bingbing, Li Bingbing, Shu Qi and Josie Ho, all of whom are complete unknowns in the US. The five finalists were whittled down after filmmakers interviewed over 100 actresses all over Asia.

Tang is said to have front-runner status due to her good English skills (improved vastly after she took a break from acting to study at the University of Reading in the UK) and the fact that her management company is an investor in the new film. If she joins the film, she’ll be amongst fellow up and comers and acting legends alike, with Craig, Marlohe, British actress Naomie Harris playing iconic Bond character Ms. Moneypenny, and Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem, Ben Wishaw and Judi Dench rounding out the cast. Though plot details remain tight under wraps, Bardem has revealed he will play the villain, presumably Marlohe has taken the role of a secret agent, and Tang is up for the role of “a beautiful Asian woman named ‘Severin.’”

No stranger to beating out hordes of young actresses for highly sought after roles, Tang landed the lead in Ang Lee’s 2007 “Lust, Caution” after beating out 10,000 actresses, which landed her on Hollywood’s map with a nomination at the Independent Spirit Awards in 2008. Her fame has inevitably risen in Asia, but Bond 23 would mark her English language film debut.

Is French actress Berenice Marlohe the new Bond girl?

September 29, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Daniel Craig may have found his new Bond girl and, well, she looks an awful lot like his previous ones. Guess James Bond has a type. Twitch Film reports French actress Berenice Marlohe has been cast in an unspecified Bond Girl role in still untitled Bond 23, which sees Craig returning as sleek super spy James Bond under the direction of Sam Mendes.

Plot details are inevitably under tight wraps as the film gears up to shoot, but we do know Marlohe will not be the only Bond Girl on 007′s arm (or perhaps trying to kill him). British actress Naomie Harris has been reported to be playing iconic Bond character Ms. Moneypenny, and Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem, Ben Wishaw and Judi Dench round out the cast.

The Film Stage further details that in addition to the Moneypenny character, who is mostly supporting comedic relief, there are two potential action-oriented Bond Girl roles, a “beautiful English Agent” and a “beautiful Asian woman named ‘Severin.’” It’s possible the Agent has been made French for Marlohe with one more Bond Girl still to go.

Marlohle had been primarily acting on TV in France, but is now transitioning to films, currently working on feature “Un bonheur n’arrive jamais seul” opposite former Bond Girl Sophie Marceau. Of course, becoming the next Bond Girl will go quite a long way to advance her film career.

“The Dark Tower” casting announcement coming this week

January 18, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting, General News Leave a comment

One of the biggest, most ambitious upcoming projects is Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s cross-platform adaptation of Stephen King’s epic novel series “The Dark Tower”. The plan is for the story – a genre-bending historical/fantasy/western/sci-fi epic journey involving a gunslinger and his quest to find The Dark Tower, said to be the axis of all universes – to be told over the course of three movies and two seasons on television. That’s right, a franchise on both the big and small screens featuring the same (potentially A-list) cast, that will be years in the making. The story will begin with an epic blockbuster film, continue on a 6-8 episode season as a TV series, then another film, presumably during summer hiatus, followed by season 2 of the show, and conclude with one last epic feature film. Howard is already committed to directing the first film and the first season of the series.

The ambitious undertaking is partly inspired by Peter Jackson’s revolutionary adaptation of “The Lord of the Rings”, with all three epic blockbuster scale features shooting back-to-back: “What Peter did was a feat, cinematic history,” Howard told Deadline in December. “The approach we’re taking also stands on its own, but it’s driven by the material. I love both, and like what’s going on in TV. With this story, if you dedicated to one medium or another, there’s the horrible risk of cheating material. The scope and scale call for a big screen budget. But if you committed only to films, you’d deny the audience the intimacy and nuance of some of these characters and a lot of cool twists and turns that make for jaw-dropping, compelling television. We’ve put some real time and deep thought into this, and a lot of conversations and analysis from a business standpoint, to get people to believe in this and take this leap with us. I hope audiences respond to it in a way that compels us to keep going after the first year or two of work. It’s fresh territory for me, as a filmmaker.”

James Franco wanted for “Clash” sequel “Wrath of the Titans”

November 8, 2010 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given how much buzz he has going for him right now due to the revelatory performance he gives in “127 Hours”, Production Weekly reports that James Franco is being sought after by Warner Bros to co-star with Sam Worthington and Gemma Arterton as Phoenician King Agenor in the sequel to this year’s critically panned but commercially successful “Clash of the Titans”, entitled “Wrath of the Titans”. PW also reports Javier Bardem, another Oscar contender for “Biutiful”, is being sought to play God of War Ares.

Jonathan Liebesman is directing the entire original cast who are returning (some perhaps only because they are contractually obligated to do so) for a shoot in January 2011. Perseus himself, Sam Worthington, has gone on record to say he realizes the first movie was problematic and he hopes they will be rectified in the sequel. He tells Total Film, “It got roasted but it made half a billion dollars. And when we do the second one we can rectify the mistakes of the first… I want to change Perseus. For a start, don’t have a f*ing shaved head. This time I’m going to have ringlets.” Well, there you have it. Let’s hope Liebesman and the creative team are thinking a little bit bigger.

javier bardem